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DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS. 

HOW TO REAR AND MANAGE THEM. 



RDITOR 
CO-' 



By H. H. STODDARD, 

OF "'the poultry world," "the AMERICAN POULTRY YARD," AND "tHE 
•OPERATIVE poultry POST." AUTHOR OF "aN EGG FARM," "POULTRY DISEASES," 
"poultry ARCHITECTURE," " LIGHT BRAHMAS," " WHITE LEGHORNS," 
"brown LEGHORNS," "PLYMOUTH ROCKS," " WYANDOTTES," " IN- 
CUBATION; NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL," " HOW TO FEED 
FOWLS," " HOW TO WIN POULTRY PRIZES," " HOW 
TO PRESERVE EGGS," ETC. PUBLISHER OF 
"how TO RAISE POULTRY ON .\ 
LARGE SCALE," " A POUL- 
TRY COMPENDIUM," 
ETC. 



HA RTFO RD 

1885. 



CON N. 



DOMESTIC 

WATER FOWL 



DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS. 

HOW TO REAR AND MANAGE THEM. 



By H. H. STODDARD, 

EDITOR OF "THE POULTRY WORLD," " THE AMERICAN POULTRY YARD," AND "the 
CO-OPERATIVE POULTRY POST." AUTHOR OF "aN EGG FARM," "POULTRY DISEASES " 
"POULTRY ARCHITECTURE," " LIGHT BRAHMAS," " WHITE LEGHORNS," 
" BROWN LEGHORNS," " PLYMOUTH ROCKS," " WYANDOTTES," " IN- 
CUBATION; NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL," " HOW TO FEED 
FOWLS," " HOW TO WIN POULTRY PRIZES," " HOW 
'''^ I TO PRESERVE EGGS," ETC. PUBLISHER OF 

/I ^ "how TO RAISE POULTRY ON A 

LARGE SCALE," "a POUL- 
TRY COMPENDIU.M," 
ETC. 







HARTFORD, CONN. 
1SS5. 







Copyright, 1885, by H. H. Stoddard. 



12- 



Z^<^7 



DOMESTIC WATER FOWL 



DUCKS. 



'T^HE breeding of ducks for market purposes pays well, 
A where there are suitable facilities at hand for prose- 
cuting it, for there is always a good demand for both 
the flesh and the eggs. Generally in winter and spring 
ducks sell considerably higher than chickens, pound 
for pound, and the price of duck eggs is often higher 
than that of the choicest hens' eggs. Under favorable 
conditions, ducks are splendid layers, and during the 
height of the laying season will average nearly an egg 
a day for the entire flock for several weeks, so that 
there is no question but that duck breeding will pay 
when conducted properly. Those who have not made a 
trial of this kind of poultry, and are situated to do it 
properly, should at least experiment in this direction. 

Ducks are, as a rule, freer from attacks of disease 
and disorders than any other breed of fowls, but they 
must have plenty of room and sufficient water. They 
do not do well in confinement, though they must, dur- 
ing the laying season, be confined in their pens until 
they have laid their eggs, else they will drop them 
around promiscuously, wherever the desire seizes them, 



4 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

and thus many will fall to the lot of crows and skunks 
and other marauders. They will generally lay by or be- 
fore ten o'clock each morning, when they can be given 
their liberty for the remainder of the day. By giving 
them a generous supply of food each evening, the flock 
will be sure to come home promptly at eve, when they 
can be penned up until after they have shelled out 
their eggs next morning. 

A river or larger stream is objectionable rather than 
otherwise, and more success will be had by restricting 
their water privileges to a small and good stream. We 
know of one breeder who annually rears two or three 
hundred ducks, who utilizes a stream not larger than 
would readily flow through a four-inch pipe ; by dam- 
ming up the stream here and there he secures basins for 
them to bathe in. The brackish water near the sea 
coast where small creeks empty affords an excellent feed- 
ing place for ducks. 

Fanny Field gives some very good hints, rules and 
opinions about ducks and ducklings in the Prairie 
Farmer, from which we extract the following: 

" Every farmer who has a pond or stream of water 
on his premises should keep a few pairs of ducks, at 
least. As a rule, where there is any market within a 
reasonable distance of the farm, ducks and ducklings 
may be profitably reared. Young ducks, in good condi- 
tion, always command a good price in city markets, their 
feathers sell at a good price, and the eggs for cooking, 
and a roast duck occasionally, make tempting additions to , 
the farmer's table. A good many farmers, who live too 
far from market to render it profitable to raise ducks 



DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. C 

for sale, would find that it would pay to raise them 
for feathers, and for meat for their own tables. Where 
one is blessed with a family of children the entire charge 
of a flock of ducks might be given over to the little 
folks, and they would take an infinite amount of pleasure 
in caring for the ducklings, collecting the eggs, feeding the 
old ducks, and watching their antics in the water. And 
then your little folks would be learning something all the 
time, and take my word for it, that there is nothing so 
good for children as to give them something to care for — 
to have them feel a sense of responsibility. 

" For a small flock a rail pen may be constructed 
and covered with boards. Have one side higher than 
the other, so that the board roof will shed rain. I 
have a good-sized yard near the water, surrounded by 
a picket fence, and with a long, low shed across the 
north side. Nests are placed along the back side of 
the shed, and the floor is well covered with dry gravel 
and earth, which keeps the floor free from filth. 
This spring I intend to extend the fence, so as to in- 
close a portion of the stream, and put in water gates, 
so that there will always be plenty of water in the yards 
at all times. Of course, the ducks are only confined in 
the yard at night, but I find that in winter and during 
the cold rains of early spring and late fall they spend 
a good deal of the time under the shed. 

"As ducks frequently lay for two or three months 
before they take a notion to rear a family, it is neces- 
sary, especially when one wishes to raise a large num- 
ber of ducks, to set some of the first laid eggs under 
hens. The directions given for preparing nests and set- 



6 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

ting hens must be attended to when setting a hen on 
ducks' eggs. Do not crowd the nest ; five ducks' eggs 
are enough for a small hen, and seven or eight for a 
Brahma or Cochin. Unless the eggs are set on the 
ground, particular attention must be paid to the sprink- 
ling with tepid water during the last two weeks of incu- 
bation. Sprinkle slightly every day while the hen is off 
for food. Neglect this and your chances for ducklings 
will be greatly lessened. Ducks' eggs usually hatch well. 
With fresh eggs that have not been chilled, and have 
been carefully handled, you may count on ducklings at 
the rate of ninety for every hundred eggs set. I don't 
think it pays to hatch ducklings very early in the season, 
unless one wishes to raise some extra large birds for 
exhibition. Ducklings grow rapidly, and if hatched in 
April and May will grow to a good size for the winter 
market. Feed young ducklings on the same things and 
in the same way that you would feed young chickens. 
Feed ducks as fowls are fed. 

"The proper time for picking ducks may be ascer- 
tained by catching two or three of your flock and pull- 
ing out a few feathers here and there ; if they pull hard 
and the quills are filled with bloody fluid, the feathers 
are not 'ripe,' and must be left a while longer; but if 
they come out easily, and the quills are clear, the feath- 
ers are called 'ripe,' and the birds should be picked 
at once, or they will lose the greater part of their 
feathers. To pick a duck before the feathers are fully 
ripe is to injiire the bird very much ; you will find a 
bunch of very long, rather coarse feathers under each 
wing ; do not pluck them, they support the wings. When 



6 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

picking take but few feathers at a lime between the 
thumb and forefinger, and give a short, quick jerk down- 
ward." 

MALLARD DUCKS. 

The wild Mallard is found in all countries in the 
north temperate zone, and is undoubtedly the progen- 
itor of all our domestic breeds having the recurved 
feather in the tail of the drake, a feature that is not 
found in other wild varieties besides the Mallard. More- 
over, this breed of wild ducks comes easily under domes- 
tication, and is susceptible of marked variation in size 
and color when for a few generations in that condition. 

The origin of the domestic from this wild species is 
recognized in several of the languages of Europe, the 
same name being given to both. Besides this, when 
either the Pekins, Rouens, Cayugas, or Aylesburys are 
crossed with the wild Mallards, the offspring are not 
sterile " mules," but perfectly fertile, which fact indicates 
that the Mallards are the original wild species. 

It is interesting to many persons to know from what 
wild species our domestic fowls were derived. Such 
evidence as we have advanced is the most reliable, for 
certain peculiarities, as the recurved tail-feather of the 
drake, serve as a brand for ages. 

There is no species of wild duck or goose that may 
not be reared in captivity and half-tamed with ease. 
Thorough domestication is, however, a work of time, and 
persistent efforts must be made through generations, till 
the sense of familiarity with man becomes hereditary, and 
the weight of the birds acquired through profuse feed- 




^^ fiil 



lO DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

ing, and the weakness of wmg caused by disuse, make 
them incapable of prolonged flight. 

There is much uncertainty and obscurity in the gene- 
alogy of even man, the writer of history. But there is 
strong evidence that even the most civilized people had 
ancestors in a "wild state;" forefathers that would not, 
if pictured, excite ancestral pride. So in the case of 
animals we only mention indications. The history of 
the origin, not only of nearly all the various species of 
our domestic animals, but also of most varieties into 
which th -y are divided, is extremely obscure, or wanting 
altogether. The origin of the 

ROUEN DUCK, 

one of the most valuable and most widely disseminated 
of the class, is, however, quite certain. The French city, 
whose name the variety bears, and the district adjoining, 
had but little, comparatively, to do with its " make up ;" 
but the combined labors of breeders in France and Eng- 
land evolved in the process of time, from the common 
domestic ducks, by selection on the basis of size, the 
plump, massive breed or variety to which some chance 
incident gave the appellation of Rouen. A parallel case 
is shown in the naming of the Hamburg fowl. 

The fine, close plumage, the " beauty spots " upon 
the wing of the Rouen drake, the delicate pencilings 
upon his sides, the rich chestnut of his breast, and the 
black with green and blue reflections of his head, are 
almost exactly such as may be seen in his cousin, the 
common barn-yard drake. The art of the breeder has 
not produced this arrangement of tints, or modified it 



DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. II 

essentially. The Rouen inherited it from the common 
domestic stock, who in turn derived it from their wild 
ancestors, the free, untamed denizens of stream, lake and 
fen, over the whole of the temperate regions, and a part 
of the tropical and arctic, throughout the entire northern 
hemisphere. 

The body of the Rouen is larger than that of the 
common duck, some specimens attaining great weight. 
Some pairs have been exhibited weighing thirty pounds. 
Thus we see how lightness of body and gracefulness of 
the wild species has been changed, owing to the in- 
fluence of domestication, the effects of plentiful feed and 
easy life. The wild bird has a habit of activity and 
takes long flights, and has comparatively light weight, 
without much variation. 

The Rouen drake has lustrous green plumage on head 
and neck, the lower part of the latter having a distinct 
white ring, but not quite uniting at the back. The 
breast is dark, or purplish-brown, and the wings show 
colors of brown, purple and green, which do not fail to 
excite the admiration of the beholder. The duck has 
a less gorgeous dress of brown, penciled with darker 
brown, the wings having bars of purple, edged with 
white. Both sexes generally breed true to color. Proba- 
bly the exact similarity of plumage, which has been pre- 
served during improvement in size, like that of the 
common and wild varieties, is the result of man's selec- 
tion. There was a beautiful pattern in the beginning, a 
Standard that nature gave, and man could do no better 
in colors than that. He selected for white and obtain- 
ed the Aylesbury and the Pekin, and as far as plumage 



12 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

is concerned these varieties are admired " because they 
look so pure and so clean." 

PEKIN DUCKS 

were first imported from China by Mr. J. E. Palmer, of 
Stonington, Conn., in the spring of 1873. They were 
at first mistaken for small-sized geese. They have long 
bodies, quite long necks, and carry their tails erect when 
startled. A large number were brought on shipboard, 
mostly young birds, but only a very few survived the 
passage. The importer saved a drake and three ducks. 
They are, without doubt, a larger bird than the Rouen, 
and for their beauty and size a great acquisition to our 
poultry stock. The bill is yellow, and the legs are a 
reddish or orange-yellow. The wings are short, and as 
they cannot fly well, it is quite easy to keep them in 
small inclosures. They are very prolific. Two of the 
ducks of the first importation laid nearly one hundred 
and twenty eggs each from the last of March to about 
the first of August. 

Pekin Ducks have taken their proper place in the 
list of domestic fowls, and are rightly esteemed for their 
size and white plumage. Having been rapidly dissemi- 
nated through the country since the fir^t importation, 
they have had a trial in the North and South, East 
and West. The trial has, no doubt, been a very unfair 
one in many instances. This new breed has been 
thoughtlessly subjected to all the disadvantages of incest. 
Men have bought pairs, perhaps brother and sister, and 
bred them closely in successive years, the stock diminish- 
ing in size and vigor, till Pekins were banished as de- 



14 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

generate and inferior. We say this to explain the fact 
that Pekin ducks do not all present the fine appearance 
of those exhibited by Mr. J. E. Palmer in 1874. Those 
breeders who have taken pains to cross with birds from 
a later importation, have fine success in maintaining size, 
and their birds are strong. The small wings of this 
variety of water fowl attest the great length of time since 
domestication. Thousands of years have passed, and the 
descendants of the wild Majlard of Asia became uni- 
formly white, nearly, and the wings, through disuse, so 
small that flight is an impossibility. It is not eas_, to 
determine how long this process has been going on, but 
it is interesting to observe that our largest breeds of 
fowls, having comparatively the smallest wings, come from 
that quarter of the globe where, probably, man has long- 
est dwelt and exercised dominion over the beasts of the 
field and the fowls of the air. 

Mr. G. P. Anthony, of Westerly, R. I., writes of 
Pekins as follows: 

" The ducks are white, with a yellowish tinge to the 
under part of the feathers; their wings are a little less 
than medium length, as compared with other varieties, 
making as little effort to fly as the large Asiatic fowls, 
and they can be as easily kept in inclosures. Their 
beaks are yellow, their necks long, their legs short and 
red. When the eggs are hatched under hens, the duck- 
lings come out of the shell much stronger, if the eggs 
are dampened every day — after the first fifteen days — in 
water a little above blood heat, and replaced under the 
hen. The ducks are very large and uniform in size, 
weighing at four months old about twelve pounds to the 



DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 15 

pair. They appear to be very hardy, not minding 
severe weather. Water to drink seems to be all they 
require to bring them to perfect development. I was 
more successful in rearing them with only a shallow dish 
filled to the depth of one inch with water than those 
which had the advantages of pond and running stream." 
Of the second importation of Pekin Ducks by Mr. 
Palmer, Rev. W. Clift writes : 

- " They were brought down from Pekin to the coast 
by Major Ashley and put on board the vessel. The 
mortality among the ducks was much greater on their 
journey in China than on shipboard. They came 

through the long voyage in safety, and only one, a drake, 
died after landing. They were in thin condition, but 
rapidly recruited, and after a few days began to lay. 
As they had laid a good many eggs on their passage, 
for the benefit of the cook, it was not expected that 
they would lay the usual number of eggs, but their per- 
formance was very satisfactory in this respect. The 
drake which leads the flock is a very large bird, with 
bone enough to carry ten pounds. The largest duck 
weighs eight pounds, seven ounces, and a second duck 
is nearly as heavy. These weights are larger than any 
that the first importation attained during the first season, 
though they have been exceeded since. It is one of 
the good points of these birds that they improve in 
weight after they become acclimated, and there is a 
steady gain up to the third generation. This importa- 
tion from the best stock in China, carefully selected by 
Major Ashley, is likely to have an important influence 
upon the breed in this country. 



l6 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

"There is much danger of deterioration from in-and- 
in breeding, and our best breeders are careful to avoid 
it. It will now be in the power of all breeders of 
Pekins to get new blood into their flocks at small ex- 
pense. Drakes of the second importation, bred with 
ducks of the first, or the equivalent breeding in the 
other direction, will probably give the best results at- 
tainable. 

" Mr. Palmer's facilities for breeding ducks are unsur- 
passed. His place is located immediately upon a salt 
water cove, fed by a mill stream, and the ducks have 
free access to the endless variety of salt water food 
which every tide brings in, as well as the run of a 
large meadow, where grasses and insects abound. It is 
fortunate for the reputation of the breed that all these 
natural facilities are united with skillful management at 
headquarters." 

In the future much will depend upon judicious man- 
agement in breeding Pekin ducks. Breeders have ascer- 
tained by experience that repeated in-breeding brings de- 
terioration ; and if large size, the desirable quality, is to 
be attained, there must be selection of the largest speci- 
mens for breeding, not near akin. This is a very old 
breed of ducks in a comparatively new country. In the 
East, both land and water fowls have been domesticated 
for an immense period of time, and large breeds have 
been slowly developed. A Chinese Encyclopedia, pub- 
lished in 1609, but compiled from documents still older, 
states that fowls were kept in China over three thousand 
years ago. 

WHITE-CRESTED DUCKS. 

This variety has very much the same characteristics 



l8 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

as the Pekins. They are pure white in color, and are 
very graceful birds. This latter merit is owing a great 
deal to the crest, which the American Standard says 
should be " large, and well balanced on the top of the 
head — color, pure white." The bill is not large, being 
of a yellow color. The shanks are a light orange. 

AYLESBURY DUCKS 

take their name from the town in England where they 
have been bred from time immemorial as a market fowl, 
In thai place and \ icinity they are produced in large 
numbers, mostly by poor people, who find a market for 
the birds, when they are about six weeks old, in London. 
These sales in the aggregate for one year amount to 
^20,000 — a very handsome sum — furnishing for some 
families all the means of support. The ducklings in- 
tended for the early market are never permitted to go 
into water ; are fed at first on hard-boiled eggs chopped 
fine and mixed with boiled rice ; then, as they get 
older, barley meal and tallow scraps are used. 

The Aylesburys are white as the driven snow, their 
legs orange color, bill of a pinkish or Hesh color. The 
drakes differ not from the ducks in appearance, except 
as they show the curled feather in the tail. The eyes 
should be deep leaden blue. The weight of the Ayles- 
bury drake, when raised to perfection, is about nine 
pounds, and that of the duck eight pounds. In this 
country this breed of ducks has been very generally 
disseminated, and before the introduction of the Pekins 
was the white duck ; and now there are many breeders 
who prefer the Aylesbury ducks on account of their 



20 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

compact form, and their early maturity or fitness for 
market. There is a breed of ducks that has received 
attention from American fanciers, and is worthy of yet 
more. We quote from Mr. Clift : 

THE CAYUGA DUCK. 

" The Cayuga is as much an American breed as the 
Aylesbury is English or the Rouen is French, and it 
ought to receive much more attention from our fancy 
breeders. It has not been very extensively propagated 
until within a few years, and is now a rare bird in the 
farm-yards of our country. It is as easily raised as 
the common Mallard, and with careful breeding for a few 
generations may be brought up to the weight of the 
Rouen. It is said to have originated on the shores of 
Cayuga lake, and to be a cross of the wild black duck 
upon the common Mallard. However that may be, it 
has been long enough propagated to have very distinct 
qualities, and is properly called a breed. ' The head is 
small, neat and slender ; the bill broad, rather short and 
dark in color ; neck medium ; breast broad, full and 
prominent ; body long and round, very full and plump ; 
wings long and carried well up ; legs medium in length, 
and black or a dark slate color ; plumage of drake of a 
glossy black throughout ; the head and neck of a 
brilliant greenish hue ; also, the wing coverts, but not 
so decided in color, the primaries of the duck some- 
times being of a dark brown, all the rest is a jet black ; 
a few flashes of white in the breast of the duck ob- 
jectionable, but not a disqualification.' 

"This description is given by Mr. Eicknell, who is 



22 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

one of the largest and most conscientious breeders of 
this variety. The weight of the bird is from six to 
eight pounds, but with proper care may be increased. 
The flesh is said to be better, than the Rouen or Ayles- 
bury, and it has greater aptitude to fatten. Indeed, a 
little care is needed in the quality of the feed to pre- 
vent them from dropping down behind. They are good 
layers and fair mothers, for ducks, though we greatly 
prefer hens for hatching and raising the broods. The 
breed has so many good qualities, and yields so readily 
to treatment, that we are confident there is money in 
them for the faithful breeder who has a high standard 
and will work up to it. With a solid black plumage 
and a weight of eighteen pounds to the pair, the breed 
cannot fail to have a great demand from Europe at 
remunerative prices. For flavor and. delicacy of flesh 
there is nothing in the line of domestic water fowl quite 
equal to the Cayuga Duck." 

The Cayuga Ducks thrive well in a restricted range, 
form strong attachments to the place where bred, and 
are not much inclined to stray if favored with proper 
care. Under liberal feeding they fatten quickly, and 
their flesh has a game quality similar to that of wild 
fowl. When they have been longer cultivated, the 
largest being selected as breeders, they will undoubtedly 
attain the size of the Rouens or Aylesburys. They are 
prolific layers, producing about eighty eggs in the early 
sprmg, and in some cases a laying in autumn. Their 
bills are dark colored, some entirely black, having a 
black bean at the extremity, the color of legs being the 
same. There will be a fading out of these colors after 



24 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

a large number of eggs have been laid by the duck — 
any strong draft on the system causing this ; also a 
lessening of luster in the plumage. Fanciers may well 
be encouraged to cultivate this distinctively American 
breed of ducks, for they are hardy and handsome. They 
have not received the attention which properly belongs 
to them in their own land. 

Among water-fowl there are none more beautiful in 
plumage than the 

MANDARIN DUCK. 

This is sometimes called the "Fan-Winged" Duck, 
from the peculiar shape of a portion of the wing, which 
rises over the back in the shape of a lady's fan. The 
head has a crest falling gracefully back on the neck 
from the bird's head, and the colors of the body plum- 
age are very fine and* uniform in this curious variety, 
considered in China the prettiest of the race. Mr. Haight, 
an observant traveler in China, says that he found that 
"we in America call the ducks of China by names unlike 
those used by the Chinese. What we call the Pekin 
Duck is called by the Chinese in the north the Mandarin 
Duck, from the fact that they are kept in large numbers 
by the Mandarins at Pekin and throughout the northern 
provinces. What we call the Mandarin is a wild duck, 
large numbers of which are found in the north of China, 
and are called by the Chinese simply wild ducks. Thev 
perch on trees, except during the moulting season, when 
they rest among the leaves on the ground. They are 
capable of being domesticated, and numbers are sent to 
southern China for this purpose." It is said that they 
dwell in pairs mostly, and are so greatly attached to their 



DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 2$ 

original companions that they do not usually mate a 
second time if one or the other is killed. This state- 
ment, probably, is more romantic than truthful. Very 
few Mandarin Ducks have been brought to the United 
States alive, though a pair or two have reached the pub- 
lic park in New York and the zoological garden in Fair- 
mount park, Philadelphia. In habit they are much like 
our American Wood (or summer) Duck — shy, timid and 
secretive. But they are handsome, and for variety make 
a very beautiful ornamenta) water fowl for pond or arti- 
ficial lake on a gentleman's estate. As regards size, 
they are about that of the American Teal. 

These ducks are small in size, but none more beauti- 
ful in plumage have been found in any country. The 
male bird more especially exhibits beautiful colors, from 
September to the period of moulting each year, that are 
not excelled certainly by any of the duck kind. Green, 
purple, chestnut, -cream color, claret, blue, white, gray, 
with other combinations or shades, render the plumage 
very attractive to the eye. He has a long crest of 
purple and green, with a stripe of cream color below, 
on the side of the head, two stripes of white across the 
breast and shoulders, back of which the plumage is very 
finely penciled, the ground color being ashy yellow. 
The neck is brownish red, and the back light brown 
The bill is crimson, legs pink and eyes black. The 
duck wears a plainer dress. 

WOOD DUCKS. 

The name " Carolina Ducks " has been applied to this 
variety, but this is not correct as indicating their par- 



26 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

ticular location, for they are found in every State from 
Vermont to Florida. The name which we prefer has 
been given to them on account of the practice which 
they have of making their nests in the woods, generally 
in the hollow of some tree. They will choose a tree 
very near or overhanging the water, if possible, and if 
compelled to go some distance from water to find a 
suitable tree they take their young to the water one at 
a time, clasping them in the bill. 

The Wood Duck is the most beautiful in plumage of 
all the water fowl of this country. The drake has a 
pendant crest of green, bronze and velvet, which, with 
the white bands, red color of bill, and orange red of 
the iris, renders the head resplendent with gay colors. 
The breast is chestnut color with velvet tinge, and mark- 
ed with small spots of white. Besides, the back, lower 
part of body, wings and tail have black, white, green, 
purple and blue in bands, spots and shadings. The 
plumage of the duck is not so showy, and from June 
to September the drake wears a more modest dress. 

The Wood Ducks have been kept in domestication 
for their beauty, which increases from year to year, the 
colors becoming better developed and more gorgeous. 
They hatch a dozen or more ducklings at a time when 
in the wild state, but when confined are not prolific, 
though they may become so when long under the in- 
fluence of domestication. The Wood Ducks kept at 
present by the zealous amateur on account of their 
gaudy colors will fly like hawks if not confined. Audubon 
says of the birds in their native state : " The Wood 
Duck breeds in the Middle States about the beginning 



28 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

of April, in Massachusetts, a month later, and in Nova 
Scotia or on our northern lakes seldom l)efore the first 
days of June. In Louisiana and Kentucky, where I 
have had better opportunities of studying their habits in 
this respect, they generally pair about the first of March, 
sometimes a fortnight earlier. I never knew one of 
these birds to form a nest on the ground or branches 
of a tree. They appear at all times to prefer the hol- 
low, broken portion of some large branch, the hole of 
our large woodpecker or the deserted retreat of the fox 
squirrel. They are much attached to their breeding 
places, and for three successive years I found a pair 
near Henderson, in Kentucky, with eggs in the begin- 
ning of April, in the abandoned nest of an Ivory-billed 
woodpecker. The eggs, which are from six to fifteen, 
according to the age of the bird, are placed on dry 
plants, feathers, and a scanty portion of down, which I 
believe is mostly plucked from the breast of the female. 
They are perfectly smooth, nearly elliptical, of a light 
color between buff and i)ale green, two inches in length 
by one and one-half in diameter." 

Among the "bantam breeds" of ducks may be men- 
tioned the 

BLACK EAST INDIAN DUCKS. 

As the name indicates, the color of plumage is black 
throughout, yet having a greenish tinge or reflection. 
The drake has a bill very dark "yellowish green" in 
color, the duck's bill being very dark. The smaller 
these ducks, the better for purpose of exhibition. 

THE CALL DUCK 

has been bred in perfection in the United States by very 



30 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

few fanciers of the aquatic races. The " Call Ducks " 
are of two distinct varieties, and in color these differ 
materially. There are the Gray and the White breeds. 
In size and form they are closely alike ; both are much 
less in size than the average domestic duck. Indeed, 
for the show room, the smaller the ** Call Ducks " the 
better they are esteemed. For colors, the White variety 
should be spotless white. The Gray is very similar in 
plumage to the Rouen Ducks, both male and female. 
They are sometimes called " Bantam Ducks," and are 
bred as small as possible by all who strive to win prizes 
with them in the exhibition room. Upon private ponds 
or lakes the Call Ducks of both varieties are highly 
ornamental, and in the breeding season they are exceed- 
ingly active among their aquatic companions. They are 
a handsome, sprightly water fowl, and are constantly 
growing in popularity among cultivators of this class of 
birds. The Call Ducks are much used as decoys in 
wild duck shooting. For this purpose they are made 
up of a cross between the common small "puddle duck" 
and the wild Mallard. The result is a compound of 
the tameness of the domestic variety and the power of 
flight of the wild bird. The decoy is trained to fly 
from the hunter's feet to meet an approaching flock of 
wild birds and then, at the call of its master, to return, 
luring the flock within shot. Ducks can be highly 
trained with much more ease than hens can be, as the 
former are very knowing animals. 

» 

MUSCOVY DUCKS. 

The name Muscovy is a corruption of Musk, the 



32. DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

term referring originally to the musk-like odor of the 
skin, which is, however, dissipated by cooking. The 
Standard recognizes two varieties — the White Muscovy 
and the Colored Muscovy — the former pure white and 
the latter a "lustrous blue black, sometimes broken with 
white feathers." The Muscovy Duck is a native of 
South America, where it exists in a wild state, and is 
also extensively domesticated. The drake weighs ten or 
eleven pounds and the duck five to seven pounds, the 
difference in the sexes in this respect being remarkable. 
When this species is half or two-thirds grown they are 
excellent for the table. The drake possesses a quarrel- 
some disposition, and woe to birds of other breeds that 
come within his reach. The Muscovy, in a wild state, 
possesses good powers of flight, and even in the domes- 
ticated state is fond of making excursions upon the wing. 
Unlike our other breeds of domesticated ducks, this 
species readily perches like the common fowl. 

The feathers of the White Muscovy have the same 
loose appearance as in case of the colored varieties, not 
lapping compactly on one another, which is a disadvan- 
tage to these ducks so far as looks are concerned. 
The face, about the eyes, is not covered with feathers, 
and has a bright red color ; also the base of the bill 
has an excrescence, quite prominent, of a bright scarlet. 
Muscovy Ducks are found wild in Brazil in great num- 
bers, and are there domesticated, those less than a year 
old being highly esteemed for the table. The peculiar 
odor of musk, which is apparent when the bird is alive, 
is not noticed when its flesh is cooked. They are not 
migratory birds, but active on the wing, and will alight 



34 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

on trees, often building their nests some distance from 
water. Males will fight with each other at the begin- 
ning of the breeding season with great persistency, tear- 
ing feathers and flesh if possible. 

Muscovy Ducks are capable of sustaining themselves 
for quite a time on their long and powerful wings, and 
are fond of taking flights about the neighborhood, but 
in most cases they return punctually to their home, after 
the manner of pigeons. As they lay fewer eggs than 
most other ducks, this fact, with the detestable disposi- 
tion of the drakes, makes them an undesirable breed to 
keep. The drakes are continually fighting or " raising a 
row," in some instances catching an unfortunate duck 
of another species by the neck and holding its head 
under the water until drowned. The Musk Duck is 
domesticated to a considerable extent in this country and 
Europe, but not nearly so largely as in some parts of 
South America. 

THE EIDER DUCK 

is one of the sea-duck species, having, in addition to 
its thick, handsome plumage, a down of royal softness, 
as an additional protection for it and its eggs in the 
cold country in which it breeds. In size it seems to 
approach nearer the goose than the ordinary duck. Its 
length is over two feet, and its weight from six to seven 
pounds, being the heaviest in winter. It breeds and 
passes the summer in Labrador, commencing to make its 
nest the last of May, among the grasses and bushes near 
the water, of seaweed, twigs, and mosses, each nest con- 
taining from five to seven eggs three inches long, and of 
a pale, olive-green color. After the eggs are laid the 



^6 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

female plucks from her breast a few ounces of down 
(the male has been known to do the same) and places 
it under and around the eggs, so that when, during in- 
cubation, she leaves the nest for food and exercise, the 
eggs are covered by the down and the warmth retained. 
When the young are hatched the mother leads them, or 
takes them in her bill, to the water, where she teaches 
them to dive for their food, and protects them from 
danger. By the early part of August, the old ducks 
and their broods are moving south. They are rarely 
seen south of New York, and are common in the win- 
ter season from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts. When 
we take into consideration the fact that not only does 
this duck, in its wild state, nearly equal, in all essential 
points, our long-domesticated ones, but that it has this 
rare additional power of producing down, which is so 
highly prized for its warmth and lightness that it is 
worth between three and four dollars per pound, we feel 
that its domestication is not only desirable, but that it 
is a matter of sufficient importance to receive a thorough 
and practical trial. It is said that it has been raised 
in captivity, in which state it is as tame and gentle as 
the domestic duck, with which it readily associates. We 
may add that the eggs are considered a great delicacy 
by the fishermen, and also that the flesh is well fla- 
vored. 



GEESE 



WE now devote a portion of this volume to the sub- 
ject of rearing and keeping geese upon the poul- 
try-farm, or otherwise ; and this well-known and greatly 
esteemed representative of the feathered race is an im- 
portant item, in an economic view, in the yearly aggre- 
gated value of our poultry product in the United States. 

Probably in no country in the world do there exist 
greater facilities, in various ways, for the profitable rais- 
ing of geese than those easily accessible to our farmers 
and country people in various sections of this land. 
Certain is it, too, when the surroundings are appropriate, 
and the land upon which geese may be reared is not 
suitable or valuable for other rural or agricultural pur- 
poses, that this grand bird is one of the most profitable 
that can be cultivated, for various reasons. 

And yet it is a fact that but few American poulterers 
appreciate the goose at its fair value. And taking the 
breeders of poultry together, as a mass, there is but a 
small minority who care to attempt geese-culture anyway, 
or to any considerable extent. 

The poorest of poor pasture-ground will suffice for 
their grazing. Swamp, marsh, stream or river suits them 
equally well, for bathing, feeding and sporting in the 

38 



DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 39 

water. And between land and water they will contrive 
to forage largely for their sustenance, if they have room 
enough — thus reducing the cost of their keeping for 
most of the year to a merely nominal sum. 

Of all known poultry-stock, geese are in the main 
the most profitable fowl that can be reared, where the 
situation is such as is appropriate and convenient on 
which to breed them — and the land they occupy for 
range is not needed or suited to other farming purposes. 

There are thousands of old farms and estates along 
the American sea-coast, as well as in the interior, whereon 
geese could well be kept and reared to profit — which 
lands are useful for little else. And as we have here- 
tofore suggested, we repeat that those who own such other- 
wise useless and uncultivated property, on which there 
are the requisite "water privileges" we have referred to, 
will do well to bear this hint in mind. 

The experiment, at least, will cost but little, and with 
intelligent management, we are confident that success will 
follow upon this undertaking, in almost any location 
where geese are raised in quantities within reasonable 
distance of a good market. The breeding of geese 
is a very simple process, where the farmer or poulterer 
has the proper surroundings and facilities on his place 
to grow them. But water is a prime necessity for their 
accommodation; and without this — in the shape of marsh, 
run, pond, swamp or sea-shore estuary — geese cannot be 
reared to advantage, of course, in any quantity. 

Other kinds of poultry are good in their way. But 
there is no portion of the goose that is not good for 
something. The liver is a choice tid-bit, as every lover 



40 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

of the pate de foie gras very well knows. The feathers 
are valuable, and they yield these when dead or alive, 
in considerable quantity. Their plumes make admirable 
quill pens. When fatted, their meat is a most desirable 
dish in cold weather for the table of the bon vivant. 

And while living, if kept upon a private pond or 
miniature lake, they are next in beauty to the admired 
swan, as an ornamental water fowl, upon the premises of 
the well-to-do farmer or country gentleman. Why not 
breed geese then ? 

The reasons given generally are because they are sup- 
posed to be enormous eaters, and because the method 
for raising them successfully is not understood. But as 
a matter of fact, neither are they expensive to feed or 
difficult to rear ! 

Anybody who can set a hen, and who is able to 
care properly for a brood of chickens, may raise a flock 
of goslings — provided the birds have water at hand for 
their accommodation, when it is needed for them. 

Usually a gander to three or four geese will be found 
sufficient. But they will breed better in pairs than 
otherwise, as the male of this breed (like the cock- 
pigeon), when the female is sitting, guards the nest while 
the goose is away feeding, daily. 

The gander is at his best for service after his third 
year, and he will last many seasons in full vigor. As 
layers, geese are at first inconstant. After they are 
more mature, they will lay pretty regularly, and will yield 
a litter of fifteen to eighteen eggs before inclining to be 
broody. But all depends upon the weather, and the 
season of the year. 



DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 41 

Occasionally old geese* will lay in a year as many as 
sixty to seventy eggs, but this is not of common oc- 
currence. The average number is forty-five, or less. If 
they can have plenty of water and pasture ground to 
roam in, geese will thrive and grow, without getting fat, 
if they have little or no feed besides. 

When the goose is ready to lay, you will notice that 
she carries straw, sedge or stubble in her bill to make 
a nest with. Confine her in a shed-roofed box, and she 
will shortly show her eggs. In the same nest where 
she deposits her first egg, usually, she will lay out 
her litter of fifteen to twenty eggs. 

When broody, she will remain upon her nest, after 
laying. Give her a deep, oval nest to sit in, and let 
her have thirteen to fifteen eggs to sit upon. She will 
bring forth her brood in twenty-eight to thirty days 
(according to the warmth of the season), and if left 
alone and undisturbed by the rest of the flock, or by 
other interference, the mother will almost invariably take 
good care of her goslings from the outset. 

While incubating, the goose should be well fed. If 
left to gather her own sustenance, she will frequently 
remain away from her eggs too long, and allow them to 
chill in cold weather. Food and water near by, within 
the house where she sits, will obviate this. 

Like newly-hatched chickens, the young goslings do not 
need food for twenty-four hours after hatching. Then give 
them stale bread, scalded bran and potatoes, milk curds, 
dry boiled green stuff and hard-cooked eggs for a week. 
Keep them away from the water for two weeks — and house 
them, dry and warm, until they get strong on their legs. 



42 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

The goslings may be allowed to follow the mother 
to the open water when fifteen days old, with safety. 
Previous to this time, their down is not a sufficient 
protection against the chilling effects produced by their 
earlier indulgence in the swimming bath. From this 
time forward the young must be regularly housed at 
night, and fed for some weeks steadily with soft food 
of meal and vegetables at morning and evening. They 
will, under this treatment, grow smartly, and soon learn 
to become active foragers and grazers, like their parents. 

Rats will devour young goslings, if they have an 
opportunity, and chance to be plentiful in numbers in • 
the immediate neighborhood of the goose-pens. But they 
do not trouble the geese. The fox is the most dreaded 
enemy to the goose-keeper. But his depredations are 
limited in great part to the night time. It therefore 
becomes a point of consequence to goose growers to 
make sure that the houses in which geese are sheltered 
at night are fastened up and are fox-proof. 

The weasel, the skunk, the muskrat and the mink will 
assail geese also. And where a large flock is culti- 
vated they will attract these night vermin to their quar- 
ters from a long distance, frequently. Care should be 
had, therefore, to make the house a protective shelter 
against the probable or possible incursion of these ma- 
rauders. 

The building where the geese lay and sit, and where 
previously they resort at night to roost, may be a plain 
board or plank lean-to shed, six feet high in front, and 
running back to four feet high, for walls. Shingle or 
batten this tightly. And when the young ones are 



44 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

hatched out, care should be taken that the floor is kept 
dry for two or three weeks, lest they take cold and die 
off before they are two weeks old. 

The floor of the house should be kept clean, also, 
when the young goslings are about. And for a month 
after the hatching, it is best to confine the mother and 
young by themselves. The little ones need to be better 
fed than the old birds, and consequently (until they go 
to the water) they should have a small pen away from 
the main flock to dwell in exclusively, with the mother- 
goose. 

Geese are hardy under ordinary fair treatment. There 
is very little sickness among them, usuajly, and they Uve 
to a ripe old age, if permitted to do so. But com- 
monly it is desirable to slaughter and market this race 
during the first year of their lives. A yearling goose 
(or gander) is at its best for eating at ten to twelve 
months old. 

They should have good foraging ground from the 
beginning, and it is better with these (as with turkeys) 
intended for marketing that they should in some way be 
well fed always, from goslinghood to early winter time. 
Then they may be quickly fattened, when put up at 
last. 

The flesh of geese is very desirable eating, but they 
must be fattened and slaughtered at Christmas or New 
Year's to render them the most salable. Old geese are 
not toothsome, ordinarily. 

For fattening, the best corn meal and potatoes boiled 
together are as good a kind of food as can be given 
them. They should have all they will eat of this three 



46 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

times a day, just before killing. And in a brief space 
of time they will be in readiness for the butcher and a 
market, where they will command a good price, among 
seasonable dead poultry. 

During the summer and fall they will resort to the 
pasture-pond, or stream, and obtain green and other 
desirable provender, to their satisfaction. At night, when 
they return to the houses, give them a dish of mush, or 
a supply of sound whole corn. This will keep them till 
morning. Then furnish the early meal, and set them at 
liberty for the day. 

In this way, systematically managed, geese may be 
raised by any one, with but slight experience even, to 
his satisfaction and pecuniary profit, upon premises 
where the stock may be able to gather a goodly portion 
of their daily food on the meadows or streams adjacent to 
their coops or houses, which are best built near the margin 
of the water they daily visit, for feeding and pasture. 

The feathers of an adult goose will weigh about a 
pound and a quarter annually. Some persons pluck them 
twice, some thrice in a year, and obtain five, six or 
eight ounces at a time. 

Inasmuch as there exists no extraordinary difficulty in 
raising geese, since at maturity these splendid water fowls 
are salable at a remunerative price, when fattened and 
slaughtered ; and when it is considered how valuable are 
their feathers, it certainly seems that much greater num- 
bers might be bred in this country, to advantage, than 
our poultrymen and farmers hitherto deemed it advisable 
to produce. The demand for geese will increase as this 
article of food becomes appreciated. 



48 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

The most popularly bred of all varieties of the goose 
are the common or mongrel gray and white sorts. These 
are, generally speaking, descendants from the original 
Gray Lag Goose, and may be found widely disseminated 
in small flocks in every portion of this country, especially 
in New England and throughout the Northern States, be- 
ing cultivated for the nearest city markets, where thou- 
sands are sold annually for consumption. 

Long domestication has increased the size of these 
geese. And in many districts where attention has been 
and is given to selecting the best and largest ganders 
every year to breed to the better class of females, fine 
yearlings are produced by poulterers who understand 
this branch of their business, and who keep their geese 
upon the right kind of land — as a specialty. In ad- 
dition to this mongrel race, we have also the superior 
White Embden or Bremen variety, the great Toulouse, 
the mammoth Hong-Kong or African, the Egyptian, the 
small Brown China Goose, the White China Goose, the 
Canada Goose, and the Sebastopol — a new variety, but 
little known. 

The three principal sorts now named — to wit, the 
Bremen, the Toulouse and the great Hong-Kong, are but 
sparsely bred among us, compared with the number of 
common geese grown annually in America. But the in- 
troduction of ganders of either of these breeds among 
the flocks of common geese, has had the same effect in 
increasing the size of the progeny (in the first crossing) 
that the mammoth Bronze cock has occasioned by his 
admixture with the common race of hen-turkeys around 
us. 



50 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

THE AMERICAN WILD GOOSE, 

which is called in Europe, technically, the "Canadian" 
or Canada Goose, is very well known throughout this 
country ; and dead specimens are frequently seen in our 
city markets in the fall or winter every season. These 
are shot "on the wing," as they pass in their migrations 
in myriads over the prairies and along the sea-coast — 
from their breeding places in the far North to more 
genial southerly climes, whither they migrate annually. 

Many attempts have been made, where ganders of this 
tribe have been occasionally secured alive, to breed this 
bird as a cross with the common goose. But the ex- 
periments have not proven often very successful. The 
nature of the Wild Goose is not favorable to this 
mixture. Audubon, the ornithologist, kept a few, but 
could not in three years trial induce the old birds to 
breed in confinement. He took a few young ones, which 
he secured at the same time, and these bred indifferently. 
In other instances, where wounded Wild Geese have been 
captured, and bred to the common breeds afterward, it 
is recorded that young have been hatched from the 
union. These goslings were mules, however, and they 
were not productive. 

Although it has been claimed by a few persons who 
have bred the Wild Goose among their domesticated 
flocks that the progeny of their connection has been as 
profitable as the others, and that the half-bloods show 
superiority in size, we are satisfied from abundant contra 
testimony that this union is not a practical thing, as a 
rule, even if it were not an exceedingly difficult thing 
to procure the Wild Gander in a fit condition to breed 



IxgV 




52 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

him to our domestic geese. And so we opine that the 
better method is to make use of the varieties which 
may at all times be readily obtained, and which, when 
grown together or among the mongrel race, will yield 
the larger product, with a much lessened degree of cost 
and trouble. 

THE COMMON DOMESTIC GEESE 

are too well known to require at our hands any elaborate 
description. They are grown everywhere and anywhere, 
in small or large flocks, where the commonest facilities 
are at hand, or where any kind of feathered biped can 
subsist. But the better the care and conveniences afforded 
them, the better the results to their keepers, as a matter 
of course. All fowl-stock thrives when well attended to. 

The common geese, either white, gray or mottled, are, 
in proportion to the whole number bred in this country, 
at least a thousand to one. The large varieties we have 
mentioned are comparatively but seldom seen on our 
farms ; and either the Bremen, the Toulouse or the 
African are to be found, in their purity, in possession 
of but few fanciers — who grow the latter for breeding 
stock or as ornamental water fowl, for the most part. 
In view of the incontrovertible fact, however, that the 
bulkier varieties, at the same age, may be grown just as 
easily and with as little trouble or care as the others, 
it is surprising that those who cultivate this race at all 
do not choose the heavier and larger sort in preference 
to rearing the mongrels ! 

An ordinary eight or ten-pound "green goose" at 
Christmas-time will command for price as dead poultry 



54 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

in market from a dollar and a half to two dollars cash 
— according to weight and quality — and these are pro- 
duced by the thousand every year, among the common 
race. At nine or ten months old, a well-fed specimen 
of the larger-bodied varieties will draw twelve to fourteen 
pounds (frequently more), and sell for two or three cents 
per pound higher than the best of the mongrels will 
bring. And the extra cost of bringing the more meaty 
fowl to this condition, at the age mentioned, is hardly 
perceptible. 

Why, therefore, shall we riot cultivate the heavier 
sorts ? The first cost for breeding-stock, it is true, is 
greater. But the rapidity with which this race is multi- 
plied — where the proper facilities are at hand to grow 
geese — is a sufficient answer to this oft-repeated ob- 
jection, to every sensible, enterprising poultryman. 

THE EMBDEN GOOSE 

is also extensively known as the White Bremen goose — 
the first that we ever had in America having come 
direct from the port of Bremen, Germany. These were 
imported by John Giles, of Providence, and by Col. 
Samuel Jaques, of Ten-Hills Farm, Medford, Mass., some 
sixty-five years ago. 

These geese are of mammoth proportions, as also the 
Toulouse ; ganders of either breed frequently weighing 
twenty-eight to thirty-five pounds, each, alive. Mr. Sisson, 
of Warren, R. I., a few years later than the other im- 
porters mentioned, received from Bremen a few of these 
splendid fowls, and wrote that "they lay early in March, 
sit and hatch with much greater certainty than do the 



56 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

common geese, will draw nearly double the weight at 
same age, yield quite twice the quantity of feathers 
annually, never fly at all, and are uniformly of a snowy 
whiteness." 

Within twenty-five years, the Bremens have been sold 
at $40.00 and $50.00 a pair, for breeding stock. Now 
they are more common, and can be had at $10.00 the 
pair, of fanciers in various parts of this country. Crossed 
with the common white goose, the progeny retain the 
original pure white color, and are enlarged greatly in 
size, at once. 

THE TOULOUSE GOOSE 

is also an enormous bird, but is thicker and shorter in 
form. Its color is brownish gray, all over, with lighter 
tinted plumage under the breast and belly. They grow 
very rapidly, from the shell, put on fat readily, and at 
maturity will equal the Bremen in weight, and frequently 
are known to excel the latter in this respect. These 
crossed upon the mongrel gray or brown goose, produce 
a progeny that, are also increased in size largely — and 
which are a very salable article of poultry at about 
Christmas-time, and subsequently, in winter, annually. 

THE AFRICAN GOOSE 

averages the largest of all the varieties known to Ameri- 
cans. Pairs of the early importations of this variety 
into this country are publicly recorded to have weighed 
fifty-six pounds, for a gander and goose ; and forty and 
fifty pounds per pair is not an uncommon weight to be 
attained at the present time, where these fowl are purely 



58 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

bred from original stock. We have had this breed (in 
limited quantities) in the United States for about thirty- 
five years. 

The Hong Kong (or "African") goose is brown, in 
color not unlike that of the Toulouse. But his shape 
is entirely different, and he wears a large horny knob at 
the base of his upper mandible, which distinguishes him 
from the others — and which has in some places given 
him the name of the "Great Brown Knobbed Goose." 

So far as we are informed, this variety of geese lay 
but few eggs annually, in comparison with the yield by 
the Bremen and Toulouse. And this fact perhaps ac- 
counts for the scarcity among us of this really fine 
water fowl. 

But these three varieties are now thoroughly appre 
ciated in this country and in Europe. And whenever 
they have either of them been used to cross upon the 
common geese, they have unmistakably left their mark 
upon and vastly improved the progeny that has suc- 
ceeded such crossing. 

THE WILD GRAY LAG GoOSE. 

The cut on page 59 is an accurate representation of 
the Gray Lag Goose {Anser /crus), claimed by the best, 
as well as the oldest authorities, to be the original of 
the race known to Europeans, and considered identical 
with the Common Gray Domesticated Goose, familiar the 
world over, to-day. 

The Gray Lag Goose is among the largest of the 
various wild species, in its native state. They will average 
ten to eleven pounds weight. The bill is flesh-colored, 



6o DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

usually, tinged with yellow. They are grayish-brown in the 
plumage, the breast and belly whitish, graded with ash- 
color ; the back and rump feathers white and yellowish- 
brown ; and the feet flesh-colored, or pinkish. In its do- 
mesticated state, this goose grows somewhat larger, though 
the average size is about that above given — say under 
twelve pounds for yearlings, rather than over that weight. 
The Wild Gray Lag is well known all over the 
temperate portions of Europe. They go to and fro in 
large flocks, as do our Wild Canada Geese, and when 
shot and properly cooked are found to be most excellent 
eating. As the undoubted originator of our widely dis- 
seminated Common Goose, its value to the poultry-loving 
world is well appreciated. 

OTHER VARIETIES OF GEESE. 

The American Standa?'d of Excellence recognizes, be- 
sides the three principal breeds noted on the score of 
utility, viz., the Embden (or Bremen), the Toulouse and 
the Hong-Kong (or African), three others, which may be 
considered more ornamental than useful, viz., the Egyptian 
and the Brown Chinese and the White Chinese. Of the 
Egyptian little need be said. It is rare, being seldom 
seen at our shows, and has the reputation of being a 
bad breeder. The Brown Chinese is but a copy of the 
African on a smaller scale, the colors and proportions 
being the same, and the White Chinese is a counterpart 
of the Brown. The Sebastopol is derived from the 
region from which it takes its name, and possesses the 
merit of oddity iu plumage, which is its principal claim 
to attention, as w'/.l 1):> seen in the cut. 



SWANS 



ALL varieties of swans possess the same general charac- 
teristics, the long slender neck, the large body that sits 
gracefully in the water, wide-spreading wings, and feet 
that send them through the water without apparent ex- 
ertion. The swan has a wide habitat and is found in 
all but equatorial regions. In its habits the birds are 
migratory and fly, like the goose and duck, in a phalanx 
of two lines meeting at a point, something like a capital 
V laid upon its side. They seem to experience difficulty 
in rising, striking the water downwards with feet and 
wings and going half flying and half swimming for a 
considerable distance, before they take the air. But once 
on the wing, the birds rise to a great height, sometimes 
attaining several thousand feet above the earth. The 
swan, generally if not invariably, both rises from and 
descends to the water. 

Swans are monogamous, and the union once effected 
endures for life. Exceptions to this have been noticed, 
two females having been observed to mate with one 
male, but these exceptions are extremely rare, and but 
serve to "prove the rule." In their married life they 
present an example worthy of imitation by the human 
race. They display great affection, an extreme fondness 

for each other's society, swimming together and caressing 

6i 



62 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

one another with beaks and necks. In case of attack 
they will defend each other with courage and daring. 
They unite in the labor of nest building, the male gather- 
ing the greater part of the materials, the female being 
the principal builder. A swan's nest is no small affair, 
built up with coarse materials and lined with finer grasses, 
into the construction of which a great mass of materials 
enters. In the care of the young the male bird does 
his full share of duty, and equally with the female 
watches over, attends and protects the cygnets until 
sufficiently grown to provide for themselves. 

The egg of a swan is very large, and usually of a 
dirty white or pale green color. It is enclosed in a 
thick heavy shell, to prevent breakage from the great 
weight of the birds when incubation begins. From six 
to nine eggs are usually laid and then the female sits, 
the period of incubation being variously stated from 
thirty-five to forty-two days, the former probably being 
correct. When sitting it is not only useless but danger- 
ous to disturb swans. Their wings are powerful enough 
to break at a single blow a man's arm, and at incu- 
bation they seem more pugnacious and intolerant of the 
presence and interference of man than at other times. 
Throwing meal upon the water is recommended as a good 
method of feeding the young. The old birds, when they 
have plenty of water range, need little or no feeding, 
except in severe weather, when grain may be given to 
them. 

Swans live to a ripe old age. " The century-living 
crow " that Bryant sings about, is but a puny upstart 
compared with the swan, if Willoughby is correct in fix- 



DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 6$ 

ing the limit to their lives at three hundred years. We 
may reasonably doubt this, but we cannot doubt that 
they reach a good old age. Probably a hundred years 
as the life-time of a swan would be within the limits of 
truth. One, even at such figures, wouldn't need to re- 
new his stock very often. His first purchase of cygnets, 
barring accidents, would last him as long as he desired 
to breed swans, and be a pretty start for his children 
or grandchildren in the business. 

The natural food of the swan is chiefly vegetable, 
although an occasional fish and the spawn of many fishes 
come not amiss. Mr. Francis Francis has computed that 
at the lowest rate two hundred swans will, in two weeks, 
consume one hundred and forty millions of fish eggs. 
While, therefore, a trout pond might be an admirable 
place for swans, swans would not prove desirable assist- 
ants in rearing trout. 

The male swan is called a " cob " and the female a 
"pen." The males care but little for the society of the 
females except their own mates, and less for that of 
other males. They have no stag parties. But the females 
are gregariously inclined and like to flock together, like 
ladies at a tea-table, perhaps talking over the latest 
fashion and society notes in the swan world. 

The swan as yet is but an imperfectly domesticated 
bird. It retains many wild habits and instincts, although 
many of the birds are tame enough to eat almost out 
of the hand. By hatching the eggs under a goose, and 
by more care in bringing up the young, it is possible 
that the bird might be rendered more domestic in its 
habits, and with this might come a greater prolificacy, 



64 DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

the six to nine eggs being multiplied into fifty or sixty, 
as is the case with the goose. 

If such a result should follow, the young, being hardy 
and easily raised, might become a market product, as 
their flesh is said to be excellent. The day may come 
when roast swan will be almost as common as roast 
turkey and may grace many a Thanksgiving feast or 
Christmas festivity, when severed families are reunited and 
domestic joys renewed. 

The Mute Swan {Cvgjius olor) is the largest, most 
beautiful and majestic of all the varieties. In length 
it sometimes is fully five feet, and the expanse of its 
wings is remarkable. Its plumage is of a vestal white- 
ness ; the bill is red, with a large black protuberance at 
the base ; the eye is of a soft brown hue ; and the legs 
and feet are of a brownish or blackish-gray color. Its 
name is misleading as the bird is not mute but has a 
soft and low voice tinged with melancholy, as if it had 
known a lingering sorrow too deep for words. Its long 
neck is gracefully arched as it floats upon the surface 
of a still lake, like a living gondola, and brings to mind 
a dream of Venice. 

" A dream of Venice brought to our own doors, 
With all the romance of its early days, 
Its doges and the marriage with the sea ; 
We list for dip of some lorn lover's oars, 

Or song of gondolier borne through the haze. 
To make the dream a bright reality." 

It flies with almost incredible rapidity, a hundred miles or 
more an hour. The cygnets when first hatched, and for 
a considerable period of time, are clad in gray, which 



66 DOMESTIC WATER EOWL. 

gradually yields to the pure white plumage of the adult 
bird. It would be difificult to imagine a more beautiful 
sight than is presented by a half dozen of these large, 
graceful fowls swimming upon a quiet expanse of water. 
They are the fit accompaniment of refined taste that 
often transforms a rugged farm into a beautiful country 
seat where wealth and culture find a temporary home 
from the hurry and worry, the drive and jjush of city 
business life. 

The Polish Swan {Cxi;7/us iminutabilis) closely re- 
sembles the Mute. It is of nearly tlie same size, and 
is of a pure white color. It differs, however, from the 
preceding in having a differently formed cranium, and in 
the fact that the cygnets are white when hatched instead 
of gray. 

Bewick's Swan {Cygniis minor) is also a pure white 
variety, but is considerably smaller than the preceding. 
It is shorter in the neck, although a graceful bird. In 
captivity it is said to be very timid and shy, and un- 
able to breed. 

The Black Swan {^Cygnus tiiger). In that strange 
country of Australia where many of the most respectable 
white people have been convicts more or less criminal ; 
where the native bushmen still cling to their mountain 
fastnesses, clothed in fur garments of exquisite softness 
and finish, their strong black hair standing out from 
their dark faces like a filmy chevaux-de-frise, and their 
dexterous hands spearing, with an unerring aim, the in- 
dolent fish that bask in the limpid and tepid waters of 
the streams ; where the bright carpet snake winds his 
gay colors among the grass like an embroidered ribbon ; 



68 DOMKSTIC WAllR FOWL. 

where the mahogany and sandal-wood trees stand in 
limitless forests, and the white-tuad tree rears its blanched 
form among them like a vegetable ghost ; where in some 
yet undiscovered cavern of the wonderful Vasse country 
is hidden the treasure from whose golden stores are 
wrought the huge bracelets and anklets of virgin gold 
which deck, on festal occasions, the simple-hearted but 
powerful and discreet natives of that inaccessible region ; 
where the kangaroo slips his little ones into his pocket 
and with surprising leaps carries them beyond reach of 
danger; where all is strange and unique and unlike all 
other countries — there, and there alone, is the original 
home of the Black Swan. On the Swan River, whose 
outlet is such a sheltered bay that no wind ruffles its 
surface, whose deep waters are so clear that the stones 
and white sands are distinctly seen at the bottom, swarm 
myriads of these graceful creatures, their gliding move- 
ments, alone, rufifiing the glassy surface of the stream 
which reflects with startling fidelity the black glossy 
plumage, the serpent-like movement of the long slender 
neck, and the flashing eye that detects at any depth 
whatever dainty morsel it seeks. 

The Whistling Sw.an {Cvgnus inusicus) is somewhat 
smaller than the Mute variety ; its bill is of a yellow 
color and lacks the protuberance noticeable on other 
varieties ; and its neck is considerably shorter and thicker. 
Its voice is its most remarkable characteristic, and has 
made it the favorite of naturalists and poets. Olaf says, 
"When a company of these birds passes through the air, 
their song is truly delightful, equal to the notes of a 
violin." Faber compared "their tuneful melancholy voices" 



DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 69 

to the sound of "trumpets heard at a distance." This 
swan, indeed, has been called "The Trumpeter Swan." 
Another has said that "the voice of a Singing Swan has 
a more silvery tone than that of any other creature." 
Schilling describes their voices as sometimes like " the 
sound of a bell and sometimes that of some wind in- 
strument ; still it was not exactly like either of them, 
just as a living voice cannot be imitated by dead metal." 
It is said, whether it be an amiable fiction or a veritable 
fact, that the death song of the swan is the loudest, 
sweetest and most prolonged which it ever sings. The 
poets have made use of this statement to add a charm 
and meaning to their verses that we should otherwise 
miss. It will not pay to inquire too curiously into the 
fact ; if it be false we do not wish to know it, and if 
it be true our enjoyment will be no greater than it now 
is. Shakespeare has been called " The Swan of Avon," 
and in " The Merchant of Venice " thus alludes to the 
death song of the bird, 

" Makes a swan-like end, 
Fading in music." 
And Byron sang, 

" Place me on Sunium's marbled steep. 

Where nothing, save the waves and I, 
May hear our mutual murmurs sweep; 

There, swan-like, let me sing and die." 

And Tennyson thus pictures the death of the swan : 
" The wild Swan's death-hymn took the soul 
Of that wild place with joy 
Hidden in sorrow ; at first to the ear 
The warble was low, and full, and clear. 
And floating about the under sky, 



7° DOMESTIC WATER FOWL. 

Prevailing in weakness, the coronach stole, 
Sometimes afar and sometimes anear ; 
But anon her awful jubilant voice, 
With a music strange and manifold, 
Flowed lorth on a carol free and bold." 

To the one who has seen these graceful water fowl, 
like living galleys, floating upon the surface of a limpid 
lake, it is not a matter of surprise that poets should be 
fascinated with them and that they should furnish the 
imagery of verse. No one is surprised that Milton should 
sing, 

" The swan with arched neck 

Between her white wings mantling, proudly rows 
Her state with oary feet." 

No one who is at all acquainted with that lover and 
interpreter of Nature, Wordsworth, is surprised that he 
should find the swan worthy a place in his contempla- 
tive verse, as in "Yarrow Unvisited " he exclaims, 

" Let beeves and home-bred kine partake 
The sweets of Burn-mill meadow ; 
The swan on still St. Mary's Lake 
Float double, swan and shadow ! 

But we need not cross the ocean to find a poet to 
describe the swan. Our own Percival m his poem " To 
Seneca Lake" thus sings: 

" On thy fair bosom, silver lake, 

The wild swan spreads his snowy sail, 
And round his heart the ripples break, 
As down he bears before the gale." 

The Black-Necked Swan {Cygnus nigricoUis), also 
called the Chilian Swan, is a native of South America. 



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002 857 144 6 




